Windows Phone Market Share Estimated to Pass iPhone

Despite a slow start into the mobile phone market Windows phone users could see a spike in their market share over the next four years, enough to pass iPhone users and claim second place in the mobile OS market. Reports by research firm IDC show that over next four years iPhone shares are expected to drop around one percent, while Windows Phone shares are to see a growth of 14 percent when it comes to overall market share. These are huge changes!

Changes in the market share of Windows phone have been attributed to the recent introduction of the highly rated Lumia 900 by Nokia in emerging markets. Android will still remain the most used OS with a drop in market shares of around eight percent, due to the recent growth and sales of Samsung phones according to the report.

Blackberry users will not see much market change at all, with an expected .1 percent market loss. The loss of share has been attributed to the recent growth of the mobile app market. Symbian as a mobile OS is expected to see its death in the next two years with Nokia’s previous announcement that all future Nokia phones will run on the Windows mobile OS.

Overall, IDC expects the global mobile phone market to grow four percent over the next four years as well, with an expect 1.8 billion phones being shipped this year alone.

“The smartphone parade won’t be as lively this year as it has been in past,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. “The mobile phone user transition from feature phones to smartphones will continue in a gradual but unabated fashion. Smartphone growth, however, will increasingly be driven by a triumvirate of smartphone operating systems, namely Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.”